A 14-year-old boy from Planalto, Brazil, has died after injecting a liquid made from a crushed butterfly into his body, reportedly as part of a shocking social media challenge.
The teen, identified as Davi Nunes Moreira, spent seven days in the hospital fighting for his life before tragically passing away.
At first, Davi told his father that his injury came from playing, but as his condition worsened, he confessed to what had really happened. Shortly after the injection, he began vomiting and developed difficulty walking.
Doctors worked to stabilize him, but despite specialist care, his health rapidly deteriorated. Medical experts say the exact cause of death is not yet confirmed, but investigators believe he may have gone into septic shock due to toxins or possibly suffered an embolism.
“We don’t know how the solution was prepared or the size of the fragments he injected,” one doctor explained. “Air bubbles left inside could also have contributed to the complications.”
The Civil Police of Bahia have opened an investigation, with autopsy results expected to shed more light on the case.
Professor Marcelo Duarte, director of São Paulo University’s Zoology Museum and an authority on butterflies, noted that little is known about the potential toxicity of butterfly body fluids in humans, making the case highly unusual.
Some local media outlets speculate that Davi may have been influenced by an experiment circulating online, though he reportedly denied this before his death.
